Last spring, ABC renewed venerable comedy Scrubs and newbie Better Off Ted, despite their low ratings. Now that they’re back, the network is in a hurry to get rid of them.
Scrubs follows hospital life as seen through the eyes of Dr. J.D. Dorian (Zach Braff). After having left Sacred Heart last season, he’s returned to help teach a new crop of med students. Others in the current cast include Donald Faison, John C. McGinley, Ken Jenkins, Sarah Chalke, Eliza Coupe, Kerry Bishe, Michael Mosley, and Dave Franco.
Better Off Ted follows Ted Crisp (Jay Harrington) and the other employees at Veridian Dynamics, a heartless technology company. The rest of the cast includes Andrea Anders, Jonathan Slavin, Malcolm Barrett, and Portia de Rossi.
Based simply on the ratings, neither ABC sitcom should have been renewed last season. Scrubs had dwindled to an average of 4.97 million viewers and a 2.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic. It was ultimately saved because ABC’s production studio produces the show and another season would bring more money in syndication.
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Last May, Better Off Ted had only aired half of its completed episodes and was averaging a disappointing 1.76 rating and 4.39 million. Though the ratings were quite low, ABC decided to bring the sitcom back for another season. The network programmers supposedly liked the pairing of Ted and Scrubs and hoped that the ratings would improve. When the network began airing the rest of Ted’s first season during the summer, the ratings dropped much further, to an average of 0.74 in the demo and 2.09 million viewers.
The sitcoms have now both returned for the 2009-10 schedule and the ratings are still terrible. Scrubs kicked off this season with a low 2.0 rating in the demo and only 4.5 million viewers. The numbers have dropped since then and last Tuesday’s episode brought in a 1.8 rating and 4.26 million.
Ted debuted with a 1.5 in the demo and 3.82 million. Last week’s installment attracted just a 1.3 and 3.18 million.
To little surprise, ABC has decided to burn off the unaired episodes of both series as quickly as possible. Single installments of each sitcom will air tomorrow night and on the 29th. On New Year’s Day, two episodes of Ted and one of Scrubs will follow the Rose Bowl Game. Then, beginning on January 5th, two installments of each sitcom will run on Tuesday nights. By the end of the month, both sitcoms are expected to have run through their full 13 episode orders.
While the network hasn’t indicated that either series has been cancelled, the decision to burn through the seasons in 60 days certainly isn’t a vote of confidence. Neither Scrubs nor Ted is expected to return, especially in light of the much better performance from newcomers Modern Family and Cougar Town.
What do you think? Do you think Better Off Ted and Scrubs will be cancelled? Will you be sorry to see either one end?
Image courtesy ABC.
What a bunch of quiters!! The ABC execs didn’t give this show long enough to get a following.
Does anyone really watch TV anymore? I just found Better off Ted on Hulu and watched all five episodes on one weekend in January. I was excited to find a new show to look forward to and now I find out it is cancelled!!! The whole time slot rigmarole just doesn’t matter anymore. Make the shows and put them on the internet and I’ll watch the show and the ads when I have time.
Both showa are fantastic. I feel ted should have more time to gain vewers. I have just found it myself and LOVE it. So mch that I have been telling everyone i know to check it out it made my cry i was laughing so hard many times now. I miss ted and scrubs already. LOVED the two hours of them both but at the time I didnt realise they were burning them off….aarrgghh sooo sad. so far four of my friends watched ted from my requet for them to watch and they are already asking me when the next… Read more »
Please keep Better Off Ted go on. It is one of the current best show. If it will be cancelled I’ll gonna be really sad/mad.
S.B.
Roma, Italia.
Maybe if ABC would actually air an entire season of BOT it would have more viewers. I LOVE the show, but it seems like the airings are sporadic. Add to that the fact that the average viewer isn’t intelligent enough to “get” the show’s dry, witty humor, and there’s bound to be a problem. BOT is one of the best new shows I’ve seen in a LONG time and it will be a tragedy. The heavy hitters like “Grey’s” are getting less interesting each season and ABC is going to cancel BOT? I swear, the main reason I still watch… Read more »
Ted is one of the funniest shows ever. It would be a hit on FOX in year 3 as that network gives funny shows a couple years for people to find them first.
I urge anyone reading this to go to abc.com and write to them let them know you love ted. Urge them to scour the net and see what those of us who watch ted think of it. ask them to spare it.
I have not seen any advertising for Better Off Ted, but I heard about it from some family members and have recently watched all of the episodes and can’t believe it is going to be canceled. This is hands down one of the best shows of the last decade, and unfortunately we will probably never see it back on TV. Way to drop the ball ABC, how about some promotion? If you check the ratings around the net (TV.com), the viewers that have caught it seem to love it. How about giving it a fair chance by promoting it?
I love Better Off Ted. the magic of the show is that it’s character driven and this is the only show i’ve seen recently with very good and smart writing. I would be terribly sad if Better Off Ted will no longer air. the Jebberwockie episode was hilarious, as well as the one with the translation Machine. Don’t cancel TED!!! please – Daniel, Philippines
It seems as though ted has already been cancelled. Jay Harrington is going to be in a new series called nature vs nurture. I hope it is not an abc show. Too bad this was a really good show.
According to a Ken Tucker interview with Harrington posted on Entertainment Weekly,
“he’s shooting the NBC pilot Nathan Vs. Nurture, but it’s definitely “in second position,” he (Harrington) says, ”
Tucker continues, “Harrington told me, “I have had many conversations with [Ted creator] Victor Fresco, and we are both extremely hopeful that ABC will give us [another] shot, so we shall see.””
Thanks for that. Thats hopeful. So here I sit fingers crossed praying to the television gods. What? They’re real.
both shows are great. Scrubs has run its course though and it seems most parties including on air cast are ready to move on. I will miss this show but it had a good run. Ted i think is getting a raw deal. I understand managements point to cancel it if it is not getting good numbers, but i think the word never got out about the show and it didn’t have a fair shot. This is a hilarious show that i would have liked to follow for years. I imagine it is too loate for a miragle growth in… Read more »
thats such bull crap. Why not just keep both shows? Do we really need to see an extra hour of Lost every tuesday night? I can’t even stand one hour of that cheesy unorginal show! BRING BACK SCRUBS AND TED!!!!
I started watching Better Off Ted a lot this season a lot and fell in love with it. I had not watched much TV over the holidays (or for the beginning of the fall season, for that matter), and so I had episodes stock-piling. I decided to give all the shows a run and by the end of my DVR playback, had just wondered how I hadn’t been watching this show more. The two scientists’ chemistry is just fantastic. I’d say they are the #1 reason I fell in love with the show. But I also noticed the show just… Read more »
They should have put better off ted on wed. alongside the shows they are promoting. It would have than gotten the attention it deserves. This is the best show I have seen in a long time. Smart and funny do not happen often.
Better Off Ted!!!!!!! The best 30 minutes of comedy that TV has to offer… period. Modern Family is pretty good, but NOT NEARLY AS GOOD as Ted. This show just needs to catch on, and it would be a powerhouse. ABC has been consistently dropping the ball with this gem, letting it jump from time slot to time slot. Given proper respect (i.e. advertising, good lead in) It would become a must watch on whatever night they decide to put it on. I Just got the season 1 DVD (because I was late to the party) and nearly pissed myself!!… Read more »
I personally love both shows. Ted is really good, I think it’s up there with the office. Much better than 30 rock! For those of you that are comparing the old scrubs to the new scrubs, it’s just not fair. Of course you don’t like the charachters as much, you had 8 years to fall in love with the last ones. Scrubs med school is a good show. I think Lawrence had done well to develop the charachters with the 11 episodes so far. I hope neither one gets canceled. It’s too hard to find better replacements.